Ramblings

LOADING & SAVING MADE E-Z

High among the list of things you II want
to be able to do with your T/S Personal
Computer will be loading and saving
operations.

Let's start by defining these two terms:
Loading is a process by which a program

— prerecorded on a tape cassette (such as
a TIMEX® software tape cassette) — is
transferred into the computer. When you
toad a program, the computer reads the
information from the external storage me-
dium (tape) and enters it into its own inter-
nal memory. This is accomplished with an
“EAR-to-EAR" connection — listening is
our equivalent of reading.

Saving, in contrast, is the exact opposite of
loading. In this operation, data held in the
computer's internal memory is transferred
onto an external storage medium (tape)
When you save a program, the computer
writes the program onto a (blank) tape
cassette. This is accomplished by a "MIC-
to-MIC" connection — talking is our equiva-
lent of writing.

Loading and saving techniques aren't par-
ticularly difficult, but just like learning to ride
a bicycle or drive a car, it does require a lit-
tle concentration and practice. So. if you
don’t succeed the first time, don’t give up

— just make the appropriate adjustments
and try it again.

To load and save, a number of steps must
be performed in their proper sequence.

In addition, there are a few "tricks of the
trade” we’ll tell you about to help make this
operation proceed more smoothly. We've
combined all of this into an easy-to-follow
procedure that shouldn't take you more
than a few minutes. Do remember to per-
form each step in exactl y the order in which
it is listed.

PRELIMINARY STEPS

Before starting, install your TIMEX
Sinclair™ Personal Computer by complet-
ing the instructions provided in the User
Manual. Make sure that all electrical con-
nections are secure and tight.

If the program size exceeds 2K (instruc-
tions with your TIMEX Software Cassette
note the size), you will need to install the
RAM Expansion Module- To do so, simply
push the RAM Expansion Pack into the

17S 1000

CONNECTING RAM MODULE

card connector on the rear of your
computer.

Make sure that the playback/recording
heads of your tape recorder are clean.
Excessive dust or dirt could make the toad
or save operation much more difficult.

Turn your television set ON; the K cursor
will display on the lower left-hand comer of
the screen.

LOADING THE PROGRAM

Place your tape recorder adjacent to your
computer Insert your TIMEX Software
Cassette into your tape recorder (directions
are provided with the tape recorder): it
does not matter whether Side A or Side B
(unless otherwise noted in the instructions)
is used, Then:

EAR JACK

TAPE

RECORDER

TRANSMITTING CABLE

1 . Press the tape recorder rewind control
to fully rewind the tape (if a program
has been saved on tape, rewind to
the position where the program is to
begin.) Stop the tape recorder.

2. Packed into the box with your TIMEX
Personal Computer, you'll find a cable
that has two connectors — on each
end of the cable.

Plug either of the two connectors into
the EAR jack on the computer. At the
opposite end of the cable, plug the
connector of the same color into the
EAR jack on the tape recorder

3, Set the tape recorder volume control to
about 3/4 of maximum volume (about
7, if the control is marked with volume
levels).

(Please be aware that the volume level
is critical. It may be necessary to rerun
the loading procedure several times
until you have found the appropriate
volume level. You may want to mark
this point on the control for easy future
reference.)

4, If your tape recorder is equipped with
a tone control, set the control for maxi-
mum treble and minimum bass (the
tone is also an important ingredient in
the loading/saving procedure}.

Continued on page 4

FEATURES in this issue:

So You Want to Start
a T/S Users ’ Group page 2

Bits & Bytes page 3

Previews page 6

Place Your Order Now , . .page 7

Computer Schematics

for Sale .page 7

Computer Vocabulary . . .page 8

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 2
APRIL 1983

LOADING CONNECTIONS

THE TIMEX® COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

SO YOU WANT TO START A T/S USERS’ GROUP !

Starting a TIMEX Personal Computer
Users' group is a great ideal A users'
group in your area is an excellent way for
all T/S owners — from the beginner to the
expert — to investigate the fascinating
world of the TIMEX Personal Computer
Your users’ group will rapidly become a
powerful magnet for the exchange of ideas,
programs, equipment, and software.

You'll be looking forward to a pleasurable
and rewarding experience — and at the
beginning, a busy time, too. So, if you're
aware of any other T/S owners — who
would like to reap the benefits of a T/S
users 1 group — get them to pitch in, too.

DEVELOP A PURPOSE

A users’ group is much like any other orga-
nization. You'll want to establish the group s
direction — and the best way of accom-
plishing this is to create an informal (at first)
charter which defines the purpose, scope,
and interests of the group. Formalizing
the goals of your group provides general
guidelines to help the club '‘get off the
ground” at inception, and keep from stray-
ing too far from the "beaten path” during
times of dynamic growth. You II want the
charter to be simple, timely, flexible, and at
the same time, responsive to the changing
needs of its members.

DEVELOPING AN ORGANIZATION

Now, you’ll want to pick out a group name
and establish a cadre of officers. A good
name not only will project a positive image,
but at the same time, suggests the guiding
purpose of the organization. Be sure to uti-
lize others to absorb some of the workload
(it is unfair to ask you to do everything).

And a good way to obtain help is to estab-
lish a Board of Directors and appoint the
officers of the organization.

Later — as the club grows — ask individ-
ual members to devote time and energy to
help plan and run the various events; you’ll
get more out of the group — and so will
they.

LOCATING A MEETING PLACE

Admittedly, this is one of the most difficult —
but most important — start-up require-
ments. You’ll want a site that is centrally (but
conveniently) located and one that is large
enough to comfortably accommodate
everyone.

It may be possible to acquire a meeting hall
— at little or no charge. Good candidates
for accommodations are local computer
dealers, public schools, places of worship,

local companies, or local fraternal organi-
zations, When meeting with the appropri-
ate individual, do explain the needs and
purpose of your group — and above all,
emphasize that your organization is re-
sponsible and will properly care for —
and clean up — the facility.

RECRUITING MEMBERS

With a receptive audience of more than
600,000 T/S owners from coast to coast,
this is one of the easiest parts of all. Publi-
cizing your group to recruit new members
can be accomplished in a number of ways:

* Word of Mouth. Talk to friends, neighbors,
business associates, church and fraternal
clubs — this is the fastest, cheapest, and
most effective method.

* Contact Local Computer Dealers. Com-
puter dealers are always looking for more
business. More computer users trans-
lates into more potential customers.
Therefore, they are most helpful to new
users’ groups. Do be sure to drop off lit-
erature or post it on bulletin boards at
their business location.

* Newspaper and Radio Announcements .
Most local newspapers and radio stations
provide free publicity — if you’ll prepare
a simple press release. If you've never
prepared a press release, pick up a
book at the library or call the newspaper
or radio station for help. They'll either tell
you how to prepare one or take the an-
nouncement over the telephone,

* Communicate with Local Businesses. Al-
most all businesses are interested in en-
couraging their employees to develop
new skills; computer knowledge is most
certainly a valuable asset in today's tech-
nological world. Contact the Personnel
or PR department and tell them about
your group.

* Use RAMBUNGS to Spread the Word . If
you request publicity and provide us
with the appropriate information (name of
group, phone number where you can be
reached, etc,) well publicize your group
in your local geographical area. Contact
the RAMBUNGS Editor,

RUNNING YOUR USERS 1 GROUP

Once you’re off and running, hold meet-
ings at regularly scheduled intervals. Ad-
vertise the time, place, and date of each
meeting well in advance — this will help to
insure a good turnout.

During the meeting keep business (club
business) short and to-the-point. Group
interest is best stimulated by providing
something for everyone — from the unso-
phisticated beginner to the computer ex-
pert, Club members will eagerly look
forward to demonstrations (contact experi-
enced club members, local dealers, and
computer manufacturers), speakers, and
special events (i.e. , computer fair or trip to
a computer exhibition).

Finally the users’ group shouldn't be a per-
sonal financial burden. Charge a member-
ship fee ($10 to $25 is typical) to put the
users' group on a self-sustaining basis.

This will help to offset the expenses associ-
ated with publicity and postage.

GROUP NEWSLETTER

You’ll want to start a newsletter to promote
the group and also provide a forum to ex-
change Ideas, programs, and operating
techniques.

The newsletter need not be expensive or
elaborate — photocopies wifi do fine! But
do be sure to present a professional image
— typos, misspelling, and sloppy typing
can turn the best newsletter into one that is
"circular filed,” instead of read.

Don't be bashful about asking for articles,
programs, and other contributions from the
members — and above all, ask the mem-
bers to volunteer their services to help
write, produce, and mail the newsletter.

The expense of the newsletter can be offset
by soliciting advertisements from local and
national dealers. The very real danger here
is that the newsletter could become over-
commercialized; take special pains to
avoid this.

TIMEX SUPPORT

TIMEX will assist your T/S user group by
providing technical support, the TIMEX
newsletter, and by answering your inqui-
ries. Please direct your users’ group ques-
tions to Margo Murphy.

We look forward to hearing about your new
users’ group — good luck!

j

2

THE TIMEX® COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

BITS/BYTES

Invariably, almost any discussion of the ba-
sic characteristics of a computer’s opera-
lion includes references to a computer's
screen. Obviously it would be helpful
to know what a screen is, and how if
operates.

For the sake of this discussion we are going
to examine a program-generated screen to
define its contents and operation

CONTENTS OF A SCREEN

As illustrated below, a data processing
screen is a display on the picture tube of
your television set. It is roughly the equiva-
lent of any form that normally is printed on
paper (a familiar example would be an em-
ployment application form). The one char-
acteristic that is common to all forms is the
fact that information must be entered into
blank spaces to complete the form,

A computerized screen display is no differ-
ent. However, in a data processing environ-
ment, the form appears on the tube of your
television set instead of being printed on
paper. Likewise, a keyboard is used to type
in the characters instead of using a pen or
pencil to write on paper,

Look at the TV display as each character is
typed and note that each character is dis-
played on the screen just as soon as it is
entered. This permits you to observe the
screen to determine that the data has been
correctly typed.

BACKGROUND FOREGROUND

TYPICAL DATA PROCESSING
SCREEN

We will use the record layout which we cre-
ated for the Organizer to represent our typi-
cal screen, Look at the illustration above
and note that the screen’s contents can be
classified as either background dafa or
foreground data.

Background data is the equivalent of the
labels that are preprinted on the form to

categorize the type of information that must
be entered to complete that portion of the
form. These labels are equivalent to those
that are preprinted on paper: They appear
— in the same location — each time the
screen appears; they cannot be erased,
modified, or altered in any way.

Foreground data is anaiogous to the empty
spaces on the form. Therefore, data must
be entered to complete the form. To do so,
type the necessary data at the keyboard.
After typing the pertinent data, press the
ENTER key to accept the data (data can
be altered to correct an error, anytime prior
to accepting the data).

When foreground data is entered, it is dis-
played in an area of the screen called a
field, (A field, in this context, is an area
on the screen, into which data can be
entered.) You enter the current data to
complete the field (please note that the
computer is also capable of completing a
field by automatically displaying the appro-
priate data at the particular location).

Field size can also be a consideration; at
times, only a preestablished number of
characters can be entered into a field. In
other instances, the field size is not defined
to permit the entry of whatever characters
are necessary

Finally, many TIMEX application programs
display only a single line of the screen at
any one time. This step-by-step approach
makes it easy to complete the screen.
However, each line displayed contains
the needed background and foreground
areas.

TYPES OF SCREENS

Several types of screens are utilized by
the TIMEX Personal Computer The most
common ones are those for programming,
menus, data entry, and display

r" ^

10 PRINT "1AM THINKING OF A"

20 PRINT ''NUMBER BETWEEN 1
AND 100"

30 H

J

PROGRAMMING SCREEN

Programming screens are characterized
as a (mostly) blank screen and a cursor at
the bottom left-hand comer of the screen.
As the name implies, and as illustrated,
this type of screen is used to program
and provide instructions to the computer

PSION COMPUTERS

VU-FILE

1 - SET RECORD FORMAT
2 - ENTER VU-FILE
3 - SAVE VU-FILE AND DATA
4 -SET PRINTER FORMAT

PRESS 1 TO 4 FOR DESIRED OPTION

TYPICAL MENU

Menu Semens are similar to a menu of a
restaurant; they permit the selection of a
particular option from a number of alternate
options. As typically illustrated, an option is
selected by pressing the keyboard number
key that corresponds to the number of the
menu option (it is usually not necessary to
press the ENTER key).

We have already described the data entry
semen; they are screens — with a fore-
ground and a background — into which
data is entered.

r

COMMANDS ARE

. ENTER ALTER

INFORM FORWARD BACK RESET ORDER
SELECT QUIT LIST PRINT COPY DELETE
EACH DATA FIELD. STOP TO EXIT

TYPICAL DISPLAY SCREEN

Finally a display screen is one in which
only background data is displayed. This
data cannot be altered or erased. Exam-
ples of a display screen would be the
Organizer Command Screen (illustrated)
or the Checkbook Listing Screen (all trans-
actions are listed).

3

THE TIMEX® COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

Loading £ Saving Continued

5. Confirm that the K cursor is displayed
on the screen. Press the J key on the
keyboard to initiate the LOAD com-
mand (the word LOAD will appear on
your television screen).

Should the wrong command be en-
tered accidentally, it's easy to change;
just press the SHIFT and the DELETE
( 0 ) keys simultaneously to delete the
improper command, then press the
proper key

6. Simultaneously press both the SHIFT
and the letter P keys to produce the
quotation marks.

7. At the keyboard, type the name of the
program (i.e., '"VU-FILE") exactly as it
is printed in the instructions (or on the
cassette If you are loading a program
you've created, type the name that
you’ve assigned to it).

8. Repeat Step 6.

9. Press the PLAY key on your tape re-
corder. Wait for a few seconds to allow
the tape leader {the non-recording
portion of the tape) to pass through the
recording head,

1 0. Press the ENTER key on the keyboard
to commence the loading process.
During the loading, your television
screen will display different kinds of
horizontal lines. This is perfectly nor-
mal. The lines — especially the thick,
solid black ones, are indicating that the
program is loading normally.

Note that the total loading time de-
pends upon the size of the program.
Naturally longer programs require
more time. Your TIMEX Software
Cassette instructions will indicate the
loading time for that specific program.
However, never, never move or other-
wise disturb the computer during the
load; otherwise the computer may fail
to load the program.

1 1 . Upon completion of a successful load,
(and with a little practice you M! be
able to load successfully); either of the
following will display on your television
screen:

* The symbols 0/0 in the lower left-
hand corner of the screen

* The Main Menu or some other por-
tion of the program
Instructions, that accompany your
TIMEX Software Cassette, will tell you
which display will appear on your tele-
vision screen after a successful load.

1 2. Turn your tape recorder OFF (it can
now be disconnected from your TIMEX
Sinclair Personal Computer, if desired).

1 3. If appropriate (and if you are not con-
cerned with losing data), press the
RLW (R) and then the ENTER keys to
initiate the program. Follow the instruc-
tions provided with your TIMEX Soft-
ware Cassette. (Note that in some
instances you will not want to RUN the
program, instead a GOTO command
will initiate the program; instruction with
your software cassette will tell you
when to do this.)

IF THE PROGRAM FAILS TO LOAD

If the program fails to load after your first at-
tempt, don’t get discouraged: A little prac-
tice and experimentation should resolve
the difficulty.

There are, however, a few common rea-
sons why the computer didn’t load, and we
can use this knowledge to perfect our load-
ing technique.

Loose Connections. Loose electrical con-
nections can impede the loading process.
Therefore, let’s check all electrical connec-
tions — between the computer, the televi-
sion, and the tape recorder — before we
try again.

Improper Connections. Remember, the
computer and the tape recorder must be
connected “EAR-to-EAR” with the same
color connectors. So, let’s make certain
that we ve connected them right!

Ram Module Sensitivity. The contacts on
this unit are sensitive to movement. So, let s
try to keep it steady during operation.

Wrong Volume Level. Here's where we
might need to experiment a bit. Try to load
your TIMEX Sinclair Personal Computer
at various (higher/lower) volume levels until
the correct setting is found.

Computer Does Not Read Program
Name. This is one of the most common
loading diff iculties and the reasons for this
vary, ranging from a “bad spot" on the
tape, to the users renaming of a program
{after you’ve saved data). Fortunately, this
difficulty is easily resolved by performing
the following steps:

1 . Complete Steps 1 through 5 of the load-
ing procedure,

2 . Instead of completing Steps 6 through 8,
Press the SHIFT and the P keys twice to
input two sets of quotes (” "). in essence,
this technique “tells” the computer to
load whatever program is encountered
first, rather than to look for a program
with a specific program name,

3. Complete steps 9 through 13 of the load-
ing procedure.

MALADJUSTMENT OF
RECORDING HEAD

You can verify whether or not the recording
head of your tape recorder is improperly
aligned by this simple test:

Run the tape through your tape recorder
just as you would to listen to music. As the
program runs, you will hear a shrill tone
which identifies the program. The tone
should be audible as a dear sound; if it
appears to be muffled, the recorder head
is misaligned and should be adjusted
{by your local electronics store).

(Please note that an alignment problem
may only affect a particular software cas-
sette. Other tapes may run perfectly fine
without an adjustment.)

SAVING A PROGRAM

Although similar to the loading protocol,
the saving procedure requires a different
type of tape recorder-to-computer inter-
connection.

Firstly, why would you want to save a
program. The following lists the principal
reasons:

* To save a program which you have
created.

• Copy the original program to obtain a
backup tape in case the original tape was
somehow damaged or destroyed; thus
the entire program would not have to be
recreated.

* Save a tape onto which data has been
stored (not to be run through the RUN
command).

• You can update a tape (i.e. , transaction
tape) holding data (i.e., last month’s sales
receipts) by adding more recent data
(i.e., this month’s sales receipts).

There are two types of saves that are used
to save programs. They are: A Manual
Save, and a Program-Controlled Save.

MANUAL SAVE

This type of procedure is used to save a
program which you have created, or to
backup your original program by copying
onto a spare tape cassette.

To run a manual save:

L Perform all Preliminary Steps listed in
the Loading Procedure.

2. Insert a blank, high-quality, non-stereo
tape cassette into your tape recorder.
(Unless otherwise indicated by TIMEX
Software instructions, the running time
of the cassette generally should not ex-
ceed 30-minutes. In general, the more
programs you have on a cassette, the
harder it is to find a particular program

Continued on page 5

4

Loading & Saving Continued

THE TIMEX® COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

TRANSMITTING CABLE

TAPE

COMPUTER

SAVINGS CONNECTIONS

and the longer you will have to wait
for the computer to find the program,
120-minute cassette tape is too thin and
should not be used.)

Rewind the tape to its starting position,
or set the tape to any other desired re-
cording position (note that if you save a
program on an area of the tape which
already contains a program, the origi-
nal program will be deleted (actually
written-over) and will be replaced by
the new program.

3, Plug one end of the double-connector
^ cable into the MIC jack of your TIMEX
Sinclair Personal Computer At the op-
posite end of the cable, plug the con-
nector of the same color into the MIC
jack of the tape recorder,

4 To save the program, wait until the pro-
gram has finished executing or press
the BREAK (SPACE) key to interrupt the
program (in the latter case, an error
message will display at the bottom of
the screen).

5. Press the SAVE (S) key The command,
SAVE will display on the lower left-hand
corner of the screen.

6. Simultaneously press both the SHIFT
and the P keys to produce a pair of
quotes ('*). The L cursor will appear

7. At the keyboard, type the name that
you are assigning to the program for
identification and (future) loading
purposes.

Then, repeat Step 6. The command
should look like this:

SAVE “NEW PROGRAM NAME 11

8. Simultaneously press the tape recorder
RECORD and PLAY controls. Wait for a
few seconds for the tape leader to pass
through the recording head,

9. Press the ENTER key.

If your tape recorder is equipped with a
tape counter it is a good idea to note
the counter setting. This will help you to
more quickly locate a saved program in
the future.

Running the save causes your TV
screen to display a pattern of alternat-
ing thick, thin and wavy lines; this
indicates that the program is being re-
corded on the tape cassette. Don't be
surprised if it takes longer to save a
program than it does to load the same
program; this is quite common!

1 0, Upon completion of a successful save,
the symbols 0/0 will display on the
lower left-hand corner of the screen,

(If the autostart feature has been em-
ployed, 0/0 will not display. Instead the
program will automatically advance to
the menu or to some other part of the
program specified by the GOTO
command.)

Stop the tape recorder (it can be dis-
connected, if desired).

When you save a program which contains
transaction data, do not initiate the pro-
gram with a RUN command. Why not?

Well, the primary reason is related to the
fact that the RUN command clears all varia-
bles; thus all transaction data will be de-
leted and would unnecessarily need to be
reentered info file.

PROGRAM-CONTROLLED SAVE

A program-controfled save js executed
from a command that is incorporated within
a program. The statements which execute
the save are typically demonstrated by the
routines below:

1500 PRINT" ENTER PROGRAM
NAME"

1510 INPUT NS

1520 PRINT "PRESS PLAY AND

RECORD CONTROLS ON YOUR
TAPE RECORDER; THEN PRESS
ENTER KEY'*

1530 INPUT X$

1540 SAVE NS

The above routine permits the programmer
to assign a name to the program to be
saved.

1500 PRINT "PRESS PLAY AND

RECORD CONTROLS ON YOUR
TAPE RECORDER; THEN PRESS
THE ENTER KEY"

1510 INPUT X$

1520 SAVE "NEW PROGRAM NAME"

This routine saves the program under the
name already established (i,e, P "NEW
PROGRAM NAME”).

To utilize the prog ram -control led save:

1) Perform steps 1 through 3 of the Manual
Save procedure.

2) As the program executes, it will pause at
the command where you must start the
tape recorder. Simply follow the prompts
which are displayed on the screen.

Note that if data has been entered, you
wo n ’ t wa nt to use a R U N com man d to initi- j
ate the program (for the reason previously

discussed). Instead use either a GOTO
command or the automatic restart tech-
nique to commence the program.

To utilize a GOTO command when the K
cursor is displayed, simply type the GOTO
command (i.e., GOT0 100) instead of
entering the RUN command.

Should you desire to make use of the
autostart feature, insert a GOTO command
into your program — immediately following
the SAVE command (i.e., 1550 GOTO 200
or 1530 GOTO 200). Make certain that the
GOTO line number specifies a line prior to
the lines which specify the arrays and/or
variables.

Finally the saving techniques used to
save the program on certain TIMEX
prerecorded Tape Cassettes deserve
special attention.

Certain TIMEX programs utilize a menu-
driven save (which incorporates the auto-
start feature). To utilize this option:

A Menu-Driven Save is an option listed on
the Main Menu (of a TIM EX Software Pro-
gram) to let you save your program (and re-
lated transaction data) quickly and easily
Utilize this option in the following manner:

1 . Complete Steps 1 to 3 of the Manual
Save Procedure.

2. Follow the software instructions to return
to the Main Menu. Then, select the ap-
propriate option (option 3 in the illustra-
tion below).

TYPICAL MENU

3, At the bottom of the screen, an L cursor
is displayed. Simply type the name of the
program to be saved (i.e,; "VU-FILE")
(you don't need to enter the quotes,
sieee the TIMEX program already does
thistfor you.)

’Q^fiure to enter the current name of the
-program; if you rename it, difficulties
may be encountered when you try to
toad the saved program.

Continued on page 6

5

Loading & Saving Continued

WE’VE GOT SOFTHEARTED SOFTWARE

RUNNING THE SAVE OPTION

After saving a program, label the cassette
with the name of the program and the
counter setting, for future reference.

That's all there is to saving a program! Easy,
isn’t it?

LOADING A SAVED PROGRAM

When you load a program saved from a
TIMEX tape cassette, the computer usually
looks for the original program name and
does not recognize the new name that has
been assigned to the saved program (as-
suming that you have renamed the pro-
gram). In this case, utilize the technique
discussed in Step 2 "Computer Does Not
Load Program 1 ’ t to achieve a successful
load of the saved program.

* Actually the ENTER key on the keyboard ,

First and foremost, RAM BUNGS, the
TIMEX Computer Club Newsletter is a
forum for you, the T/S user. Through this ve-
hicle, T/S users — throughout the country
— can exchange valuable and useful tech-
niques, ideas, programs, and discuss other
topics of mutual interest.

We gratefully solicit your articles, programs,
suggestions, critiques, and brainstorms.
Please mail your contributions to the
RAM BUNGS Editor

And if we publish your material during May,
well say thank you by sending you a free
TIMEX teeshirt Please state your shirt size
with your contribution.

All TIMEX software is designed with you
in mind. As a result, you get easy-to-use,
ready-to-go software products at a price
that is E-Z on your pocketbook. There’s no
fuss or bother either, just load the tape cas-
sette and away you go!

This month, we’ve got a treasure chest full
of sparkling-new software releases ready
for you. Best of all, your TIMEX Sinclair
Personal Computer will give you more help
and pleasure than ever before.

TIMEX SOFTWARE - FOR THE HOME

KEYBOARD CALCULATOR

Helps you perform numerical computations
(much like a hand calculator — but with consid-
erably more power and it’s easier to use). It can
be used for virtually any statistical, scientific,
engineering, or financial calculations.

Cassette: 02-2000
Size: 2K
Price: $9.95*

THE HOME IMPROVEMENT PLANNER

Lets you store up to 20- room measurements
(length, width, height). You can compute the total
area of each (wall, floor), estimate the costs of
painting, wallpapering, carpeting, draw house
blueprints, and print them.

Cassette: 03-2008
Size: 16K
Price: $14.95 *

THE HOME ASSET MANAGER

A valuable home inventory program that can be
irreplaceable in the event of fire or theft. Records
the date of purchase, the place of purchase,
product description, price, serial number, and
model number It can sum the total value of all
assets.

Cassette: 03-2009
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

THE IRA PLANNER

This retirement planning program lets the user
determine the net effect of any IRA plan. Periodic
contributions, inflation adjustment, interest
earned, and a host of other variables are estab-
lished and the total retirement amount is calcu-
lated in terms of both inflationary and current
dollars.

Cassette: 03-2010
Size: 16K
Price: $15.95*

AUTOMOBILE ANALYZER

Tracks car routine maintenance operations and
automatically reminds you when the next servic-
ing is due. Program includes trouble-shooting
tools to diagnose any problems dealing with
the engine, transmission or front end.

Cassette: 03-201 1
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

* Suggested retail price

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

Lets the user explore two different investment
strategies. The first selection allows the user to
choose between renting or buying real estate
The second option provides a detailed analysis
of a rental investment property.

Cassette: 03-2012
Size: 16K
Price: $14,95*

PERSONAL FINANCE PLANNER

This financial planner helps you perform calcula-
tions to finance a house, a car, maintain savings
accounts, repay loans, and calculate an amorti-
zation schedule (can be generated for any of
the financial programs).

Cassette: 03*2013
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

Program performs minimum risk and market
sensitivity calculations for a portfolio composed
of a set of stocks. A portfolio is developed to
provide the minimum amount of market risk at
a given degree of sensitivity.

Cassette: 03-2014
Size: 16K
Price: $14.95“

TIMEX SOFTWARE — FOR YOUR
GROWING BUSINESS

THE LIST MANAGER

Contains two programs: Mailing List — keeps
track of personal or business mailing lists of up
to 11 5- names by name, address, or zip cade.
Phone Book — keeps track of personal or
business numbers for up to 180- names
Cassette: 03-1004
Size: 16K
Price: $14,95“

STOCK MARKET — TECH. ANALYSIS I

Program uses ‘technical analysis" of price and
volume data to forecast the direction of the mar-
ket or of any stock. You may track up to 6 -stocks
without reloading the program. Requires 30-
trading days of data, closing price, and day's vol-
ume for data base loading. The computer
generates graphs for each stock, and provides a
one- page analytical summary of the technical
position of each stock average Menu-driven ap-
proach lends itself to ease-of-operation.

Cassette: 03-1005
Size: 16K
Price: $17.95*

TIMEX SOFTWARE —

FOR YOUR FAMILY’S EDUCATION

PRESIDENTS

Become familiar with past and present Presidents
of the United States. Two main options are avail-
able: (1) Presidents are presented and you must
identify the term(s). (2) Terms are presented and

Continued on page 7

6

Softhearted Software Continued

THE TIMEX 0 COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

you must identify the President. It’s a challenging
and enjoyable learning experience.

Cassette: 03-3003
Size: 16K
Price: $10,95*

PUNCTUATION MASTER

Increases skills in the use of periods, question
marks, commas Teaches basic rules of correct
punctuation while reinforcing the correct usage;
includes practice exercises and a timed test.

Cassette: 03-3005
Size: 16K
Price: $10.95*

ATOR THE ABC GATOR

This program is designed to promote the recog-
nition of each letter of the alphabet and to read its
sequence. Cleverly combines computer instruc-
tion, music, and video games in a format that is
carefully structured to ensure success.

Cassette: 03-3006
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

TIMEX SOFTWARE - FOR YOUR
ENTERTAINMENT AND ENJOYMENT

THE CHALLENGER I

Program: Amazer — enter the maze from the top
and work your way down to the bottom without
being captured by one of the robots. Game pro-
vides 10-levels of play ability
Program: Tic-Tac-Toe — match your skill with
the T/S 1000, as your opponent. The object, of
course, is to get three X's in a row.

Cassette: 02-4002
Size: 2K
Price: $9.95*

THE MIXED GAME BAG III

Cassette contains five varied and exciting speed
games: In BLITZ, bomb the cities below; pro-
vides 256-speeds of play. RATS NEST trap your
T/S 1000 "opponent" (also with 256- speeds).
THE SNAKE, collect the speeding dollars and
snake through the pit SKETCH PAD, you draw
your favorite pictures, store them on tape and
recall them on first load. TO CROSS THE ROAD,
move across the highway without being hit by
speeding cars.

Cassette: 02-4003
Size: 2K
Price: $9.95*

BIG FLAP ATTACK

Imagine that youre being attacked by giant
birds! To defend yourself and score points, you
must shoot the birds right between the eyes, Pro-
gram provides 10-levels of skills with unlimited
scoring possibilities
Cassette: 03-4007
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

RAM RUNNER

A challenging game providing 26- levels of skill.
The object: Move around the field and ram the
other runners without running into an obstacle.
How long can you survive?

Cassette: 03-4008
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

PINBALL

Plays just like real pinball game complete with
flippers, bumpers, "nudge bonus points and
more.

Cassette: 03-4010
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

STOCK MARKET GAME

Are you a bull or a bear? Play the stock market
and find out! This realistic simulation game lets
you analyze information, buy and sell stock, take
out and pay off loans — and win, if you can accu-
mulate $50,000 in "The Market"

Cassette: 03-401 1
Size: 16K
Price: $12.95*

FROGGER

Works just like the arcade game, but without
sound. You must avoid traffic, snakes, crocodiles
and treacherous diving turtles by “hopping" the
frog. The frog must reach home before time runs
out.

Cassette: 03-4012
Size: 16K
Price: $17.95*

FORTRESS OF ZORLAC

This one is a super fast game in which you are
the commander of a fleet of spaceships. Your
mission; Ride the galaxy of the dreaded alien,
ZORLAC, You'll need more than just luck to
destroy ZORLAC,

Cassette: 03-4013
Size: 16K
Price: $10.95*

THERMAL PAPER
AVAILABLE NOW

Packaged in quantities of 3- rolls for just $5.95,
thermal paper for the TIMEX T/S 2040 Printer
can now be ordered direct from TIMEX.

To order your paper, simply complete the Printer
paper order form and mail it together with your
check or money order (never mail cash) to our
Little Rock address. Don't forget to print your
name and address, the quantity ordered, and
the total price — including postage and handling
and sales tax, if applicable.

Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.

COMPUTER SCHEMATICS
FOR SALE

Electrical schematics of both the T/S 1000 and
the T/S 1016 RAM Expansion Module are now
available — at a nominal charge of $2.50 (each)
To order your schematics), mail your request —
specifying which schematic you want together
with your name and address (please print) and
your check or money order (never mail cash) for
the appropriate amount to:

Timex Schematics
P.0.1370 Dept. RAMB
Little Rock, AR 72203

The official TIMEX* Computer Club
Newsletter, is published monthly by
TIMEX Computer Corporation, P.O. Box
2655, Waterbary, CT 06725. Please
direct all correspondence to the Editor
Editor

Paul SchirlQft
Technical Support Manager

Sue Mahoney

Marketing Services Manager
Margo Murphy

This TIMEX Computer Club Newsletter is pub-
lished solely for informational purposes and
Shall not be construed as creating any war-
ranty, express or tmpiiBd. It may not be repro-
duced, in any manner, without prior permission
from TIMEX , (However, TIMEX User Groups
are hereby given permission to reproduce and
distribute newsletter information as long as it is
for the exclusive use of the members of their
User Group — and is not used for commercial
publication Please do be sure to credit
R AMBLINGS as the source of the information.)
Information contained herein is subject to
change at any time, without prior notice t and
may be superseded or amended in a subse-
quent issue ■„ We are not responsibfe for any
errors or omissions in published materieis.
However should there be an error in any sub-
mitted material, we wilt publish a correction in
a subsequent issue

T/S 2040™ Printer-Thermal
Printing Paper Order Form

I Cost;

I ( 1 J Throe roll Pack — $5.95 plus

$2.00 Postage a Handling
I Each ad d it ional pac k — $5 , 95 plus
| $ 1 .00 Postage 1 H andl i ng

I ORDER OTY. TOTAL COST

] SEND CHECK AND ORDER FORM TO:

TIMEX Dept RAMB
PO. Box 1378
Little Rock, AR 72203
] Make chocks payabla to TIMEX

VISA Account No * *

MASTERCARD

Account No. * *

Card EKpiralkm Data

SHIP TO (Plea» Print):

Name

Address

City 5la;e Zip

Allow 3-4 wnki tor da I ivory

3 roil packs also available through your local retailer
carrying the T/S 2040 printer

■ VISA A MASTERCARD Accepted only II order
Amount! to 1 10.00 or more.

Anunut. CHrfQ*rni. CownctiCu!. Gaorgu WirW« mnH 1***5
Md Ti*

Form No aazo%00i

7

THE TIMEX® COMPUTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

COMPUTER VOCABULARY

Computer terminology is a specialized and
unique language. To the first-time or uniniti-
ated computer owner, this “jargon” can be
misleading or confusing.

Each issue, we'll list some of the more com-
mon {and not so common) computer terms.
These highly simplified definitions will help
you better understand your computer and
its "lingo". Spend a few minutes to learn
these terms, and you'll soon be talking like
a computer professional.

Backup (tape or disc) — Copy of a pro-
gram on a tape cassette or disc. The pro-
gram is copied from the master onto a
spare cassette or disc to prevent the loss of
the program in case the master is some-
how damaged or destroyed.

Chip — One or more chips usually com-
prise a major part of the CPU. A chip is a
manufactured silicone wafer, upon which
certain operating functions (i.e., operating
system program) have been etched.

Data Entry Field — An area on the screen
into which data is entered either by the us-
er's use of the keyboard or automatically by
the computer The data is displayed in the

field as it is entered. This allows the user
to verify that the data has been entered
correctly

Enter — In the TIMEX Sinclair Personal
Computer ENTER is a keyboard command
which tells the computer that you’ve fin-
ished a certain operation (i.e., input data
at the keyboard). (It is analagous to an
ACCEPT command.)

Execute — the computer's action of carry-
ing out a particular instruction (e.g,, run-
ning a program).

Hard Copy — Data, in the computer, which
is reproduced onto paper by the printer
Inverse — A character (can be a series of
characters consisting of letters), num-
bers), or special character(s) ) which is dis-
played on the screen or printed on hard
copy as a white figure in a black back-
ground.

Main Frame — Used to describe the phys-
ically large, very powerful, very expensive
computer systems.

Main Menu — The place from which all op-
erations of a particular software application

are begun. This Main Menu is a screen dis-
play which lists a number of options. The
user selects an option by pressing the num-
bered keyboard key which corresponds to
the number of the option.

Master (tape or disc) — Original program
recorded onto a storage media such as a
tape cassette or disc.

Operating System — Software in ROM
(read only) memory, that permits the com-
puter to perform its various functions and
operations. Since it is contained in the ROM
memory it can neither be amended or al-
tered by the operator.

Syntax — Rules that apply to the manner
in which a program statement should be
written. The TIMEX Sinclair Personal Com-
puter will display a syntax cursor(s) if the
format of the statement is incorrect.

BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID

PERMIT NO- 6
HARTFORD, CT